Sam's News — space — 2026-09-18¶

Space¶

7.5 NASA's Roman Space Telescope Could Operate for 22+ Years, Double Original Design Life¶

Precise trajectory corrections and fuel savings mean NASA's Roman Space Telescope may function for over 22 years instead of its planned 10-year mission duration.

Sources: ScienceDaily RSS Update to: NASA's Roman Space Telescope mission extended to 22 years with precision engine burn

7.5 NASA Orbiter Identifies 728-Foot Lunar Crater from 2024 Impact, Largest New Formation¶

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has confirmed a 728-foot-wide crater on the Moon formed in 2024, marking the largest newly formed crater ever documented in the solar system.

Sources: ScienceDaily RSS, Engadget RSS Update to: NASA discovers massive lunar crater from undetected impact two years ago

7 NASA Astronomers Discover Youngest Planet Ever Detected¶

NASA astronomers identified an exoplanet that is the youngest planetary body ever discovered, shedding light on early planet formation processes.

Sources: geekspin RSS

7 NASA awards SpaceX contract for StarBurst cosmic explosion detection mission¶

NASA selected SpaceX to develop and operate the StarBurst mission for detecting and studying cosmic explosions.

Sources: Benzinga RSS

6 NASA Curiosity Rover Marks 5,000 Days on Mars¶

NASA's Curiosity Rover celebrates a mission milestone on its 5,000th day of operations on Mars.

Sources: Jagran Josh RSS

5 Voyager 1 historic photo: Earth and Moon from deep space, September 18, 1977 anniversary¶

On this date in 1977, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft captured a stunning photograph of Earth and the Moon together from billions of miles away.

Sources: Space RSS

Space Exploration¶

7.5 NASA Spacecraft Discovers Giant Lunar Crater in Rare 'Once-in-a-Century' Finding¶

A NASA spacecraft identifies a previously unknown major impact crater on the moon, representing a significant discovery in lunar geology.

Sources: Space Web Search

6.5 NASA's Curiosity rover marks 5,000 days on Mars¶

NASA's Curiosity rover celebrated its 5,000th day on Mars with a special anniversary postcard.

Sources: mydailyrecord.com RSS, Iosco County News Herald RSS, Tioga Publishing RSS, swiowanewssource.com RSS

6 NASA awards SpaceX nearly $1 billion for three Crew Dragon missions¶

NASA has awarded SpaceX approximately $1 billion to conduct three additional crewed missions to the International Space Station.

Sources: Breakingthenews.net RSS

Space Culture¶

The television series Star Trek and NASA have intertwined histories, with the show inspiring generations of real space scientists and advancing diversity.

Sources: New Pittsburgh Courier RSS